Why Your Business Must Take a Proactive Approach to IT

Why Your Business Must Take a Proactive Approach to IT
Why Your Business Must Take a Proactive Approach to IT

Why Your Business Must Take a Proactive Approach to IT

 

If you’re like most businesses today, you rely heavily on technology to support your daily operations. When your systems stop working properly, productivity grinds to a halt, employees and customers become frustrated, and your bottom line suffers.

A singular IT disaster can set your company back months, decimate your budget, leave staff struggling to pick up the pieces, and seriously risk damaging your reputation. From data loss to network malfunctions, downtime due to IT issues costs businesses in excess of $1.5 million each year in terms of lost productivity and sales.

There are two primary ways of addressing IT support for any business: the reactive approach and the proactive approach.

Some might argue that a reactive approach has its benefits. Common wisdom says that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” If your business is tight on cash, you may be seeking ways to cut expenses – and in general, you don’t see the point in paying for something you might not need.

With a reactive approach to IT support, when something goes wrong you try to get in touch with a technician to come and check your systems, then wait for them to resolve the issue.

The problem with this working model is that it can lead to significant downtime. The technician will first need to analyze the problem before they can get to work on it. If updates or replacement hardware are necessary, business operations could be disrupted even further until the upload or order is completed.

Reactive IT support staff often don’t have the right tools in place to keep tabs on the end user’s experience, instead relying on issues being reported as they crop up.

According to a recent study by Forrester Research, 35% of the time IT support first learns about issues when end users contact the service desk and open a ticket. This is because their support is reactive rather than proactive.

In order for your business to be able to foresee the challenges that may lie ahead, you need to take a more proactive approach to your IT needs. Proactive IT support allows you to better manage your IT budget, secure your data, and avoid some of the major technology risks that your business faces today. 

Through continuous monitoring and real-time analytics, proactive IT support provides excellent insight into your IT infrastructure and endpoints from the end user’s perspective. Potential problems are spotted early and resolved before they can jeopardize your business.

Businesses that opt to outsource their IT needs to a managed services provider (MSP) can expect to save time, money, and stress in the long run. MSPs continuously monitor a company’s infrastructure in search of would-be problems and work to remedy those issues before a major catastrophe occurs.

 

What Is Reactive IT Support?

Let’s dive into this one a little bit deeper.

Reactive IT support involves taking measures to correct problems only when they materialize. It’s often referred to as the “break-fix” model. Under this model, when something goes wrong the business contacts IT support – whether it’s an in-house team or an external company – and makes arrangements to have the problem repaired as quickly as possible. The business is then forced to wait for the IT team to address and resolve the issue, all too often resulting in a great deal of downtime.

The cost of a provider agreement for reactive IT support tends to be lower than a fully managed plan, primarily because this support is implemented on an as-needed basis. If your business already employs in-house staff to provide general IT maintenance, partnering with a reactive support team gives your company access to highly skilled, reliable resources at a budget-friendly price tag. 

Having a variable service agreement means you’ll only be billed for the time that’s spent fixing problems, and this can be a very attractive option for companies with limited financial resources. But there’s a catch.

The time that elapses between detecting a problem and getting it resolved can be hours or days, depending on the specific situation. In that time, significant damage could be done to your system. Since a typical IT project often surpasses its original budget by 45%, fixing an existing problem can be both cumbersome and costly for your business.

 

What Is Proactive IT Support?

Now, for the good news!

With proactive IT support, you can stay ahead of your technology problems. You don’t have to worry about losing productivity, damaging your company’s reputation, or tanking employee morale. Plus, it’s much more budget-friendly in the long run!

Proactive support is all about prevention – mending potential problems before they can snowball into much more severe issues. By proactively managing your IT support needs, you can empower your business to do more with its technology. You’ll get more out of your existing systems, establish new solutions in a strategic fashion, and develop long-term plans for business growth.

Key components of proactive IT support involve automating certain processes and monitoring technology assets to further streamline operations and make analyzing and identifying issues in advance considerably easier.

12 Advantages of Proactive IT Support Businesses

Proactive IT support offers several distinct advantages that can make a considerable difference for businesses. Here are 12 benefits of taking a more proactive approach to your IT needs:

Why Your Business Must Take a Proactive Approach to IT

Early Detection of Problems

Through continuous monitoring, your IT support partner is able to identify potential issues before they even occur. Resolving problems quickly prevents them from extending to other parts of your system. More often than not, a problem can be eliminated and maintenance carried out before it’s even detected by end users.

Why Your Business Must Take a Proactive Approach to IT

Increased Productivity

Employees and clients depend on your technology to help them achieve their goals. Software and hardware failures and other IT-related issues cause disruptions that can hamper productivity and foster frustration for all parties involved.

Solving issues proactively means less time sitting around waiting for repairs to be completed. Reducing the risk of downtime empowers your workforce to be as productive as possible.

Productivity and happiness go hand in hand. Giving your staff the right tools for the job creates a more harmonious, happier workplace.

Why Your Business Must Take a Proactive Approach to IT

Upgraded Cybersecurity

A proactive IT support team can manage every aspect of your cybersecurity, from software updates to employee training.

They’ll create security plans, protect your network against basic threats, and outline steps to take if systems are breached.

Managed antivirus and antimalware programs help keep viruses and malware at bay, while strategic backup procedures ensure that data loss doesn’t occur.

Why Your Business Must Take a Proactive Approach to IT

Predictable Costs

Most managed services providers offer their services for a fixed monthly fee which covers ongoing monitoring, maintenance, and updates, making it easier to budget your IT expenditures accurately and strategically.

You may pay more in a given month than your would in a variable fee arrangement, but you’ll also incur fewer costs as a result of downtime. When tech problems inevitably arise, you won’t have to worry about an unexpectedly high bill for repairs.

Having your systems continuously monitored keeps your infrastructure in good working order at all times. It’s always cheaper to prevent technology failure than it is to clean up the mess afterward.

Why Your Business Must Take a Proactive Approach to IT

Team of IT Professionals

When you partner with a managed services provider for proactive IT support, you have an entire team of certified IT experts at your service, instead of just one or two individuals whose daily grind consists of putting out fires or solving routine problems.

These IT specialists recognize how each device on your network plays an essential role in the operations of your company.

Having a team in place to keep an eye out for problems and handle them in a timely manner gives even smaller companies the IT support strength of much larger institutions.

Why Your Business Must Take a Proactive Approach to IT

Better Decision-Making

Before the onboarding process even begins, an MSP will perform a strategic analysis of your IT infrastructure to identify any areas of weakness that could impede optimal performance.

Based on automated tools provided by the MSP, you will be able to make informed decisions about your specific IT needs.

Having all the information presented clearly in front of you puts you in the driver’s seat, making it easier to see when you need to scale up.

Why Your Business Must Take a Proactive Approach to IT

Strategic Planning

From carrying out thorough risk assessments to inventorying your IT assets to updating your software and hardware to align with your business goals, MSPs are fully equipped to handle all strategic aspects of your IT.

A proactive strategy allows you to adapt to a changing business environment and meet future challenges head-on. MSPs will work to head off issues that can not only crop up again but worsen over time.

Why Your Business Must Take a Proactive Approach to IT

Regular Updates & Patches

Many successful cyberattacks rely on unpatched hardware and software. A proactive update schedule minimizes opportunities for hackers to intrude on your systems.

The most recent patch may also add new features that could improve overall performance.

Proactive upgrades are particularly beneficial for maintaining older technology that may be more vulnerable to attacks. MSPs can schedule these updates for ideal times, ensuring that servers won’t go offline at inappropriate times.

Why Your Business Must Take a Proactive Approach to IT

Regulatory Compliance

Understanding how your company performs with regard to regulatory compliance is a fundamental facet of proactively protecting your company and its data.

Regulatory compliance can safeguard your company from unwanted fees and preserve your customers and employees from impending data breaches.

Why Your Business Must Take a Proactive Approach to IT

24/7/365 Monitoring

Remote monitoring of your workstations, servers, routers, printers, and other network devices keeps your IT network in good shape at all times.

Knowing that a team of skilled computer experts is regularly testing your systems and thoroughly evaluating them for a wide range of potential problems gives you and your employees peace of mind.

When the team is alerted of an issue, they start working on a fix immediately, often without you even noticing it.

Software problems can generally be fixed remotely, while hardware issues typically require a technician who is physically present on the premises.

Why Your Business Must Take a Proactive Approach to IT

Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity

Major events such as fires, floods, hurricanes, and cyberattacks are a hazard to all businesses.

A reliable MSP will set up a robust disaster recovery plan for your business and implement software solutions that will keep your business up and running.

All data is backed up regularly so that, in the event of an emergency, your most crucial information is completely safe and easily accessible.

Why Your Business Must Take a Proactive Approach to IT

Around-the-Clock Help Desk Support

Most managed services providers offer 24/7/365 help desk support as well.

Not only does this come in handy whenever there’s an after-hours incident, but it also allows your internal IT staff (if applicable) to focus on projects that add value to the business rather than running around troubleshooting everyday problems.

Why Your Business Must Take a Proactive Approach to IT

Final Thoughts

Managing the health of your IT systems in a merely reactive way is like managing your own physical health reactively. Like many health issues, most IT issues can be detected by early warning signs that could be picked up through proactive monitoring.

By analyzing your business and identifying the gaps, weak points, and strengths, a managed services provider can better determine how to protect your company from emergency expenditures, last-minute crises, unexpected downtime, cyberthreats, data loss, and compliance issues.

When partnering with an MSP, you can count on effective monitoring and maintained functionality of your network, enhanced overall performance of your IT infrastructure, reduced downtime and increased productivity, ongoing support whenever you need it, and more time to devote to your core business.

Taking a proactive approach to IT doesn’t make your problems go away. But it will make them easier to plan for and simpler to manage.

DataGroup Technologies is the premier managed IT services provider in the area, delivering ideal IT solutions to businesses of all sizes.

We strive to provide significant value and outstanding service to all of our clients by acting as an extension of your business’s IT team.

If your organization could benefit from the many advantages of managed services, including proactive IT support, call us today at 252.329.1382 or drop us a line here!

What Is MDM & Why Does Your Business Need It?

What Is MDM & Why Does Your Business Need It?

What Is MDM, And Why Does Your Business Need It?

We live in a society where technological advances are increasingly accelerating consumer demand for mobile devices. These devices are continually evolving to create limitless possibilities for users. This supports the consensus of the general public – they’re continuously on the go and seeking to enrich their daily lives with tablets, mobile phones, and other devices.

The dynamic nature of technology requires organizations to be easily adaptable and willing to effect cultural changes. Nevertheless, since company progression is hampered by a failure to change with the times, it’s clear that most organizations don’t realize how much they can benefit from Mobile Device Management (MDM) security.

MDM entails deploying software to secure, monitor, manage, and support mobile devices either owned by the organization or the employees themselves.

Employees are capable of accessing company data more easily than ever before, whether by the use of mobile phones, printers, or tablets. With this increased access, the need to monitor these mobile devices is crucial.

Organizations seek to strike a balance that empowers employees to be more efficient. Since mobile devices ease this process, it’s vital that company data is kept protected and under close observation. Pairing MDM software with managed IT support services is the best way to maximize your network security.

There are a number of distinct benefits revolving around maintaining the integrity of the company’s network and the data within it. In this article, we’ll recount and expound upon 7 clear benefits of mobile device management.

7 Key Benefits of Mobile Device Management (MDM)

What Is MDM & Why Does Your Business Need It?

Remote Management of Users and Devices

Remote management describes any operation in which the controlling device is not physically attached to the actual unit. The principal reasons for implementing a remote management system are to enhance safety and boost productivity. 

Remote management is one of the most conspicuous advantages of MDM. However, the capability to remotely manage users and their devices shouldn’t be discounted. This ability assures the security and health of every mobile device that’s connected to a network, while providing an option to remotely render unauthorized users and applications inoperative as needed.

What Is MDM & Why Does Your Business Need It?

Automatic Deletion

Automatic deletion frees up storage created by temporary files that were not deleted by applications and that are no longer necessary to keep.

With MDM, you can easily delete confidential information from any device in the event that a device is lost, stolen, or is still in the possession of a previous employee who might otherwise retain access to sensitive company information. The capability to execute this kind of action gives rise to considerable peace of mind from the company’s perspective.

What Is MDM & Why Does Your Business Need It?

Data Backup

Data is a major component of any organization – quite simply, it keeps the company running. 

Data backup is the copying or archiving of files and folders with an eye toward being able to restore them in case of data loss. An organization that fails to back up its data is very likely to topple at the first sign of trouble. 

When you incorporate an MDM solution, data connected through corporate applications is backed up in conjunction with company policies. This supports business continuity measures through preventing single or multiple mobile devices from being points of failure for information loss.

What Is MDM & Why Does Your Business Need It?

Supports Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)

Bring Your Own Device, or BYOD, is the practice of permitting employees of an organization to use their own computers, smartphones, or other devices for work purposes. This not only creates a level of trust within the organization among employees, who now feel more valued – it also allows them to work within their comfort zone, utilizing devices with which they’re already very familiar.

Traditional IT support was more inclined to reject “unknown” devices as intrusive. However, MDM fully recognizes the importance of BYOD. Modern organizations would be wise to encourage employees to utilize their own mobile devices to access information such as important data and emails, provided they don’t abuse their rights.

By properly managing every device connected to the network, you don’t have to compromise security for the sake of efficiency.

What Is MDM & Why Does Your Business Need It?

Cost Savings

Assuming that mobile devices are monitored and maintained well, enabling BYOD also saves the company the stress of buying and replacing mobile devices every time something goes wrong or a new employee is hired. In other words, it conserves money – undoubtedly, the amount that would be required to purchase a new device would end up being significantly higher than the cost to secure and manage an existing mobile device.

What Is MDM & Why Does Your Business Need It?

Regulatory Compliance

Regulatory compliance involves an organization’s adherence to the laws, regulations, guidelines, and specifications relevant to its business processes.

Modern regulatory compliance should include safeguards that prevent an unauthorized device from compromising your business’s security. In addition, MDM’s reporting capabilities should permit the confirmation of network integrity.

With MDM, compliance initiatives are closely monitored through a centralized console. This means you can ensure enhanced protection while working in correlation with legal requirements.

What Is MDM & Why Does Your Business Need It?

Controlled Device Updates

Making sure systems are up to date is a major focus in the business world, as this is a crucial component of security.

MDM enables the organization’s management to control when updates are installed on devices by setting a local system update policy for each device in the network.

What Is MDM & Why Does Your Business Need It?

Application Control

Your organization likely utilizes a number of different apps, all of which are essential to some degree or another for ensuring a productive workforce. MDM security creates a centralized control for users who need to install these apps on their devices.

Application control also works to block or restrict unauthorized applications from executing in ways that put data at risk. The MDM’s centralized management system generates a number of significant advantages, such as role-based access management and the ability to disable applications as needed.

Additional functions of application control include completeness and validity checks, identification, authentication, authorization, input controls, and forensic controls, among others.

What Is MDM & Why Does Your Business Need It?

Conclusion

It’s essential for organizations to manage team members’ mobile devices that are connected to the network in order to ensure the success of identity and access management as well as optimization of functionality and mobile device security.

Achieving this success starts with identifying the solution that’s right for your business, with the goal of protecting your corporate network. The solution you choose should include device tracking and inventory, application distribution, password verification, and regulatory enforcement, as well as data encryption.

Is your business looking to bolster its network security? Call DataGroup Technologies at 252.329.1382 to learn more about how implementing mobile device management can benefit your systems and your security.

Related Posts

10 Advantages of Moving to The Cloud

10 Advantages of Moving to The Cloud
10 Advantages of Moving to The Cloud

WHAT IS CLOUD COMPUTING?

Cloud-based technology allows companies to expand their technical capabilities without the hardware hassle. Businesses that implement cloud services gain so much more than simple mobility. Moving to a secure cloud can help your business streamline its critical IT processes while simplifying business application management.

Cloud computing gives users the ability to access all the data and applications on your network by logging in from any device that has an internet connection. Programs are outsourced and reside in a secure data center rather than your hard drive.

10 Advantages of Moving to The Cloud:

10 Advantages of Moving to The Cloud

1) Cost Efficiency

Cloud technology eliminates the need for businesses to purchase and maintain additional hardware or software, greatly reducing your capital costs. With a cloud provider managing the business’s equipment, applications, upgrades, updates, patching, and all other IT processes, you’ll have more time to spend on running your business and more room in the budget to modernize and automate your processes.

10 Advantages of Moving to The Cloud

2) Flexibility

The cloud provides you the freedom to work anytime from wherever you are, as long as you can connect to the internet. In addition, many applications have been optimized for use with tablets and smartphones, so you don’t even have to carry a laptop anymore. The flexibility that the cloud offers also makes it easy to share documents with your colleagues. With software providing version control, it’s possible for multiple people to update the same document simultaneously, increasing overall productivity.

10 Advantages of Moving to The Cloud

3) Collaboration

Cloud-based workflow and file-sharing applications give teams in different locations the ability to work together more easily and efficiently. Staff can make updates in real time, see what other team members are working on, and communicate more effectively. This advanced level of collaboration speeds up projects and, ultimately, improves customer service.

10 Advantages of Moving to The Cloud

4) Security

The cloud service provider is responsible for maintaining all hardware, software, and networks in the cloud. A team of IT professionals ensures that equipment and applications are upgraded regularly, updated in a timely manner, patched when appropriate, and outfitted with the latest security measures. In addition, the cloud utilizes data encryption to ensure that anyone not authorized to access your data is prevented from doing so.

10 Advantages of Moving to The Cloud

5) Mobility

With cloud technology, you can provide total access to employees who work remotely or those who travel regularly, as well as individuals who work on a freelance basis. This increased flexibility allows employees to work on the go or from home, using their desktops, laptops, smartphones, and tablets.

10 Advantages of Moving to The Cloud / How to Protect Against Spear-Phishing Attacks

6) Scalability

Most cloud computing programs and applications operate on a subscription-based model. This allows your business to scale up or down according to your needs and budget. This level of agility gives businesses using cloud computing a huge advantage over their competitors.

10 Advantages of Moving to The Cloud

7) Data Backup & Recovery

With robust disaster recovery solutions in place, you don’t have to worry about data loss – even if your laptop, smartphone, or tablet is stolen, damaged, misplaced, or it malfunctions. You can quickly regain access to data using any computer or laptop with an internet connection. Daily data backups and recoverability tests ensure business continuity in case of an emergency.

10 Advantages of Moving to The Cloud

8) Competitiveness

Migrating to the cloud gives businesses of all sizes access to enterprise-class technology. Cloud-based business applications allows smaller businesses to compete with bigger, more established competitors, all while remaining lean and nimble.

10 Advantages of Moving to The Cloud

9) Environmentally Friendly

Since additional hardware and other physical products aren’t necessary, your business will help reduce environmental waste by operating in the cloud. This change will also likely decrease the production of paper waste. Not only are you cutting company expenses and freeing up physical space, you’re also empowering your employees to adopt a more proactive environmental approach.

Are You Protected Against Business Email Compromise Attacks?

10) Easy Implementation

A cloud service provider will work with you to outline your technical and business goals. This helps them to better understand which cloud services are right for you. From there, the provider will develop a plan and timeline to move you to the cloud. Preparing for your business’s transition to the cloud is pretty simple. You might want to consider upgrading your network bandwidth in advance of the move, as cloud computing can put a strain on local internet connections. You won’t need to hire additional staff to help with the transition. The cloud service provider will handle the move from start to finish.

Related Posts

Related Posts

6 Indicators That You Need to Overhaul Your Data Recovery Plan

6 Indicators That You Need to Overhaul Your Data Recovery Plan
6 Indicators That You Need to Overhaul Your Data Recovery Plan

6 Indicators That You Need to Overhaul Your Data Recovery Plan

Disaster recovery planning is no easy undertaking, but it’s an important one. With a wide variety of different data recovery plans that businesses can implement, the process of determining the best fit can be intimidating. A number of organizations still neglect to adequately invest in disaster recovery – considering the resources, funding, and amount of time needed to execute a solution – even though the ramifications of a disaster can easily surpass the investment.

In spite of how much effort has been devoted to your strategy, you might think that your organization’s data recovery plan is sweeping and unassailable. Regardless, if you haven’t evaluated it recently, it’s possible that your data recovery plan needs to be updated. With that in mind, we’ve come up with six surefire signs that it’s time to update your data recovery plan:

6 Indicators That You Need to Overhaul Your Data Recovery Plan

Languishing Servers

As a server ages, it begins to deteriorate; thus, the probability of a crash tumbling an organization’s network starts to escalate considerably. This is a recovery scenario you need to plan for. Replacing a server can be challenging and costly, but doing so will boost business efficiency, leading to reduced costs as opposed to using an older server that’s susceptible to crashes.

Outsourcing the monitoring of your servers and critical data to an IT support company can help you recognize potential problems before a disaster can materialize. Approaching maintenance in this manner enables your organization to prepare for planned outages within your infrastructure, including patch installation, security updates, and service packs.

6 Indicators That You Need to Overhaul Your Data Recovery Plan

Ill-Suited Infrastructure

Small- and medium-sized businesses can often become too reliant on their in-house IT teams to track, repair, and upgrade the network and corporate IT assets around the clock. However, a lack of experience often results in the task list exceeding the IT team’s ability to execute it; this, in turn, can beget errors.

When your IT team is constantly consumed with resolving day-to-day issues, it may not be plausible for them to gain a thorough understanding of system upgrades or identify how they can affect existing systems. If this is a frequent occurrence for your business, it may be time to revamp your data recovery plan.

These circumstances make it considerably simpler to misconfigure a network and can translate into devices becoming incompatible with business-critical applications if the network can’t be accessed. When this scenario results in downtime, your staff is being paid while work is not being completed, triggering a financial loss. In addition, if all devices on the network are impacted, the organization has a bigger problem to solve, with business resources taking a negative hit.

One way to counter this situation is to partner with an IT support company that can monitor the necessary system upgrades within your infrastructure, from setup to completion. By the same token, a managed services provider (MSP) can complete a comprehensive audit of your infrastructure to figure out how data passes through the network. This will enable you to better develop your future IT strategy.

6 Indicators That You Need to Overhaul Your Data Recovery Plan

Large RPO and RTO Windows

Recovery point objectives (RPOs) and recovery time objectives (RTOs) are two key elements of a solid data recovery plan. RPOs determine how much data an organization can bear to lose in the event of a disaster. On the other hand, RTOs reveal how much time an organization can allow to pass between the beginning of the recovery process and its completion.

Minimizing RPOs and RTOs is a primary goal of IT managers. When these values are lowered, businesses undergo a lesser amount of downtime, increased productivity, reduced costs, and a diminished risk of credibility loss.

A key approach to curtailing your RPOs and RTOs is by ramping up the frequency of your backups. With a greater number of backups comes an increase in the number of snapshots of your all-important data. Having more of these snapshots naturally limits your RPOs. Escalating backup frequency also decreases your RTOs, since having recent backups minimizes the total recovery time.

Replication is also a way to help lessen RTO windows. In replicating your data, you will retain a copy of it to revert to should a disaster occur, which lowers your RTOs. When using an off-premises secondary server, your RTO will be limited to the amount of time it takes to switch over from one server to the other. Your RPO will be determined by how often you replicate your data. Replication at a higher frequency results in a lower RPO. Simply put, minimizing RPOs and RTOs can reap substantial benefits for your business.

 

6 Indicators That You Need to Overhaul Your Data Recovery Plan

You’re Making Use of Multiple Data Recovery Tools

Using a wide array of recovery tools can be a contributing factor in a lagging data recovery plan. This technique suggests an incremental strategy, a disjointed group of tools intended to function independently of one another and on separate schedules. The more diverse your disaster recovery resources are, the more likely it is that a certain element of your plan will go awry at an inopportune time. Merging these disconnected systems is vital in order to alleviate the risk and simplify the recovery process.

6 Indicators That You Need to Overhaul Your Data Recovery Plan

Overdependence on On-Premise Backups

In the event of a natural disaster, equipment failure, or power outage, any backup files kept on-premises will be unavailable. In addition, ransomware has progressed to the point where it can automatically remove any on-site backup files and encrypt the original files. Due to this possibility, implementing a comprehensive backup plan is an exceptional way to preemptively secure your data from disaster.

One method to contemplate putting into action is the 3-2-1 backup strategy. This involves maintaining three copies of any set of data, two copies of which are stored on local devices, such as a server and an on-premise backup appliance. One copy is then kept off-site in an online storage space in the cloud or an equivalent location.

Are You Protected Against Business Email Compromise Attacks?

You Haven’t Tested Your Data Recovery Plan In a While

Having a data recovery plan is all well and good, but it means nothing if you can’t prove that it actually works! To verify that your plan is effective, you must thoroughly test each step of it.

With repeated testing, you’ll be well-informed as to how your organization will respond and be affected by a disaster that undermines business continuity. Testing also makes allowances for any weaknesses in the plan to come to light, providing the information you need to adjust the plan as necessary.

6 Indicators That You Need to Overhaul Your Data Recovery Plan

Final Thoughts

The value of having a rock-solid data recovery plan has never been more evident than it is presently. To minimize the amount of time spent scrambling amidst an emergency, use the COVID-19 outbreak as an opportunity to closely inspect your business continuity plan. Take the time to upgrade and test the plan to make sure that you and your business will be ready the next time disaster strikes.

Need help getting started? We can help! At DataGroup Technologies, recovering your business data is our top priority. No recovery is too big or too small for our expert team! Call us today at 252.329.1382 or contact us here to see how we can help you #SimplifyIT!

Related Posts

How to Secure Your Business Website in 2022

How To Secure Your Business Website In 2022
How To Secure Your Business Website In 2022

How To Secure Your Business Website In 2022

If you have a booming business website that’s raking in profits and helping you establish your brand, that’s great! However, you still need to make sure your site is protected from hackers and trolls who might want to tarnish your image. To ensure continued success and prevent bad actors from appropriating your intellectual property, follow these tips to help better secure your business website.

Are You Protected Against Business Email Compromise Attacks?

What Is Business Email Compromise?

According to TechRepublic, business email compromise (BEC) is “a sophisticated scam that targets companies and individuals who perform legitimate transfer-of-funds requests.”

Through the use of social engineering or malware, cybercriminals will masquerade as one of the individuals involved in these money transfers to trick the victim into sending money to a bank account owned by the cybercriminal. Once the fraud is exposed, it’s often too late to recoup the money. Scammers are quick to relocate the money to other accounts and withdraw the cash or use it to buy cryptocurrencies.

However, the scam is not always associated with an unauthorized transfer of funds. One BEC variation involves compromising legitimate business email accounts and requesting personally identifiable information (PII), wage and tax settlement (W-2) forms, or even cryptocurrency wallets from recipients.

Business Email Compromise Attacks – Managed IT Services vs. In-House IT Specialists

How to Protect Your Business Against BEC Attacks

In the public service announcement, the FBI offers several suggestions for businesses to adopt to better protect against business email compromise attacks.

  • Use secondary channels (such as phone calls) or multi-factor authentication to validate requests for any changes in account information.
  • Ensure that URLs in emails are associated with the businesses or individuals from which they claim to be originating.
  • Keep an eye out for hyperlinks that contain misspellings of the actual domain name.
  • Steer clear of providing login credentials or PII of any sort via email. Bear in mind that many emails requesting your personal information may appear to be legitimate.
  • Verify the email address used to send emails – especially when using a mobile or handheld device – by making sure the address appears to match that of the purported sender.
  • Enable settings on employees’ computers to allow full email extensions to be viewed.
  • Monitor your personal financial accounts routinely for irregularities, such as missing deposits.
Are You Protected Against Business Email Compromise Attacks?

What to Do If You or Your Company Should Fall Victim to a BEC Attack

According to TechRepublic, business email compromise (BEC) is “a sophisticated scam that targets companies and individuals who perform legitimate transfer-of-funds requests.”

Through the use of social engineering or malware, cybercriminals will masquerade as one of the individuals involved in these money transfers to trick the victim into sending money to a bank account owned by the cybercriminal. Once the fraud is exposed, it’s often too late to recoup the money. Scammers are quick to relocate the money to other accounts and withdraw the cash or use it to buy cryptocurrencies.

However, the scam is not always associated with an unauthorized transfer of funds. One BEC variation involves compromising legitimate business email accounts and requesting personally identifiable information (PII), wage and tax settlement (W-2) forms, or even cryptocurrency wallets from recipients.

Are You Protected Against Business Email Compromise Attacks?

What to Do If You or Your Company Should Fall Victim to a BEC Attack

Cybersecurity has never been more important. We live in an increasingly connected world, which enables cyberattackers to constantly find new ways to carry out digital attacks. Even the most vigilant business owners and IT managers can become overwhelmed with the stress of maintaining network security and protecting their data.

These increasingly advanced cyberattacks create unprecedented situations of data breach and money extortion. The tools that hackers use are getting smarter and stronger every day. If you’re not proactive about protecting your network, your business will become a target of cybersecurity attacks.

DataGroup Technologies, Inc. (DTI) offers a wide variety of cybersecurity services to help protect your business from cyberthreats, including security risk assessments, email security solutions, web/DNS filtering, next-generation firewalls, network security monitoring, operating systems/application security patches, antivirus software, and security awareness training. If you’re not 100% certain that your business is protected from cybercriminals, contact us today at 252.329.1382 or message us here to find out more about how we can help #SimplifyIT for your business!

Related Posts